T Is For Trouble
by SniperCT
Summary: Recent Xavier Institute graduate Rachel Summers runs into current student Kitty Pryde at a mini-mart. After the brunette convinces her to break into an arcade late at night, she decides that Kitty's middle name must be 'trouble'. Set in a generalized AU where mutants aren't yet well known.
1. T-R-O-U-B-L-E

**(Started as a prompt (Item: Slushie, Location: Arcade, time: Midnight))**

* * *

"Hi." A nervous voice interrupted Rachel's thoughts as she stood in front of the slushie machine. She couldn't decide between lime or coca cola, but it wasn't like she was in any hurry. She didn't want to go home yet, and she had no where else to be.

The redhead wore her hair short, red strands hanging an inch past her ears. She had on a spiked choker and she was nearly spilling out of a tight black corset top. Her stomach was exposed, and her low-rider jeans were well worn with strategic patches of skin showing through. Her belt matched her choker, and she had on boots that looked like they could break bones.

The girl greeting her looked familiar, and was maybe a year or two younger, with brunette hair hanging past her shoulders. It was naturally curly and though some effort had gone into straightening it, it had been for naught. She had big, intelligent brown eyes, and was wearing a t-shirt one size too big. The logo on it was new and proudly proclaimed to the world that she was a student at Xavier's Institute.

"Huh. I used to go there." Rachel nodded her head at the girl's shirt. "Graduated last year. I saw you around. I'm Rachel."

"I know." Kitty smiled at Rachel. It was hard not to know the face of the daughter of the school's headmistress. "You look a little...different. Oh! I'm Kitty Pryde."

She was adorable, and just Rachel's type, and she didn't know what to do with herself. "Cute. What are you doing out so late?"

Kitty's cheeks tinged red at the compliment. "Classes are canceled tomorrow. There was some kind of issue in the science lab." From the way she said that it was like she was used to such things. Rachel understood - nothing ever went normal at that school. As long as the public never found out it's real purpose though, it wouldn't be a problem. At least she hoped so.

The brunette got a mischievous smile, and grabbed two cups. "Let me buy you one and we can hit the arcade across the street."

"It's almost midnight. It's closed!"

"That's not gonna be a problem."

"Miss Pryde, I think your middle name is going to be trouble." Rachel watched as Kitty filled the cups with the icey drink and then followed her to the counter.

"That's me, Miss Summers. Kitty Trouble Pryde." She paid, then took Rachel's hand and pulled her out of the mini-mart. They walked that way for a block, hand in hand. Kitty could feel the heat in her face, but she didn't want to let go. She'd seen the redhead when she'd first come to the school, but had never had the nerve to approach her.

"You should have."

Kitty shot a look at Rachel. "Naturally. You really shouldn't pry, you know."

"And you shouldn't broadcast your thoughts so loudly." Rachel let go of Kitty's hand and put her arm around the girl as they crossed the street and headed around towards the back of the arcade. "And I mean it. I feel like I missed out on a couple of years of having a possible friend."

Leaning in, Kitty rolled her eyes. "I'm more trouble than I'm worth."

"So am I. But you approached me tonight." Rachel had never made friends easily. She'd had a couple, and a boyfriend that had lasted all of two weeks, so she was lonely. She didn't feel like she belonged. Meeting someone like Kitty would have been nice on those darker nights.

Kitty was always so far ahead of the other students academically that she didn't make many friends either. But she'd seen Rachel standing there, and her last six months of 'extracurricular' activities had given her a boost in confidence. "Yeah, I did."

She didn't gave Rachel anything more to that answer, instead stopping them in front of a blank wall behind the arcade. Before the redhead could protest, she'd pulled them through the solid brick and into the arcade proper. "As long as we don't turn the lights on and avoid the machines up front, no one is gonna know we're even here."

"That is really handy." Rachel sipped from her slushie cup and watched Kitty as she pulled out several rolls of quarters. "What, breaking and entering is just fine, but getting free arcade plays isn't?"

"It's only fair, right? I mean we're using the electricity by taking the games off standby." She handed Rachel a roll. "You're already an accessory, you might as well enjoy yourself."

Kitty bounded off towards one of the games, and Rachel found herself admiring how tight those jeans were. "T-R-O-U-B-L-E," she muttered under her breath. She was amused at some of the surface thoughts that Kitty kept shutting down. Fast enough ignore, but not fast enough to hide. The girl was crushing, which was even more adorable. But Rachel didn't want to completely assume. Kitty had to _say_ something.

"All right," Kitty muttered. This was her favorite game, a fighter with swords and other weapons. She liked how responsive it was and she'd always had a thing for swords and knives, so it was just the kind of game for her. She glanced back at the redhead and ran her tongue over her lips to wet them. Trying to disguise a crush around a telepath was damn near impossible, and Rachel was so ridiculously hot like that that she was going through her slushie faster than she wanted. Rachel leaned in behind Kitty and the brunette swore she could feel every curve of the other girl's torso through her t-shirt.

"What did I say about broadcasting, Kitty?"

Her breath was so warm that Kitty had to shut down several more thoughts before they went too far. "Uhm... Sorry." She told herself to breathe, and instead sped through her next words. "Sodoyouknohowtoplaythisone?"

_God save me from cute girls_, Rachel thought, moving from behind Kitty to in front of her. Kitty's surface thoughts were a complete mess now. "Yeah I press the buttons until I beat your ass."

Cracking her knuckles, Kitty put in some quarters, "Oh it's on now."

The battle waged out in full high-def in front of them. Both characters were the more agile, fast type, but Kitty kept parrying and deflecting Rachel's attacks. The redhead punched her fist against the side of the game cabinet. "Okay seriously how the _fuck_ are you doing that?"

Kitty took Rachel's hand. "Here. Press here and here, and then push the stick in the direction of my attack."

Rachel stared at their hands, too distracted to hear her and glad it was dark in the arcade as her face grew warm. She had to ask Kitty to explain it again, and their next fight was a lot more fair. She pushed the brunette to the edge of the arena.

"Damn girl." Kitty laughed at Rachel's aggression. The woman was screaming obscenities at the screen and Kitty felt almost guilty when she flipped behind her character and kicked her out of the ring.

"I hate you." Rachel grabbed her cup and angrily sipped at it while glaring at her new friend. "Lets play something where we work together or this friendship is going to be really short lived."

"What happened to beating my ass?" Kitty taunted her, smacking her hand against her own hip. "I coulda sworn you promised me that."

An invisible hand thwapped Kitty right on her buttcheek and she let out a squeal. Laughing, Rachel moved over towards a game with a pair of large rifles. "There, happy now?"

"Jesus." Kitty stared at Rachel's back, then bit her lip and followed. She stepped up to the game and picked up the gun. "A little to the left next time."

To her satisfaction, Rachel inhaled some of her slushie and started coughing. When she could breath again, she joined the other girl at the game. "Trouble. I could have sworn you looked like this really shy girl who used to sit by herself under the tree."

The coins clunked into the machine and it started up the intro sequence. Kitty brought the weapon to her shoulder. "Life's too short for that. Enjoy it while you can."

Rachel wondered what that meant, but she didn't dig that deep into Kitty's thoughts. It wasn't right to violate her privacy like that, uninvited. Surface thoughts were one thing, but people had mental walls for a reason.


	2. Caught

Kitty didn't see Rachel again until she caught the other girl on campus. She was between classes, and spotted the bright red hair at the end of the hall. She felt her insides twist around and ran through the students (literally in some cases) to get to her. She skidded to a halt and said breathlessly. "Hey! Paying us a visit?"

"Dad's taking me out to dinner later, I decided to come down early and see how everything is going," Rachel explained. A surge of excitement coursed through her at seeing Kitty. She'd missed her, things had been _boring_ without her.

"Trouble," Kitty said, smirking, and Rachel had to wonder if maybe she wasn't the one broadcasting this time.

"You're trouble, not me. Where's your next class? I'll walk you." She offered her arm, and grinned to herself when Kitty took it.

"I've got computer sciences and then ethics," Kitty said, tugging at Rachel until the redhead had started moving.

"Who's teaching ethics this year?" Rachel asked. There'd been a different teacher every year and it was like that one Dark Arts class in Harry Potter. No one ever taught it for long.

"_Emma Frost_." Kitty's voice dripped with disdain. "I still can't believe it. That's like letting the dog teach obedience school."

"Does she still do administration? That bitch kept making moon eyes at my dad and I swear to god if she tries something I'm going to-" Rachel cut herself off as the subject of their discussion came around the corner.

Emma regarded them cooly. She nodded at Kitty. "Miss Pryde." Then she looked at Rachel and the corner of her lip threatened to rise in an unattractive sneer. "Ms. Summers."

But Emma was _never_ unattractive, so she resisted the urge.

"Miss Frost," the two said together, though Rachel's tone was mocking.

The blonde stepped past them, rolling her eyes. _Bitch_

Rachel's head snapped around and she glared daggers at the back of Emma's head. _Whore!_

_Language, Ms. Summers. We wouldn't want to disappoint the headmistress, now would we._

The only nice thing that Kitty could say about Emma Frost was that she knew how to bend the dress code and that she looked good doing it.

Rachel grit her teeth, but Kitty tugged at her arm again. She let herself be dragged by the brunette, but it quickly became apparent that she wasn't being led to the computer lab. Kitty's thoughts were unusually closed off. She glanced at Rachel and smirked. Her heart was racing. She didn't usually do things like this, she was the perfect example of the perfect student.

"This isn't the computer lab," Rachel noted, as Kitty led her into an office.

"Nope. It's Frost's office." She let go of Rachel's arm and leaned against the desk. The office was meticulously kept, everything in its place and everything obscenely expensive looking. Kitty thought that Emma was angling for Mrs. Summers' office, which had a better view and more responsibility than a few classes.

"So what, are we going to move everything off kilter half an inch?" Rachel raised her eyebrow, and tried to not look at the way Kitty's shirt was riding up and exposing her stomach. The Institute didn't actually have a uniform (though Emma kept pushing for one), but the dress code still required business casual or better, and Kitty had chosen a button up blouse to go with a dress skirt today. "I thought Ms. Thurman was the OCD one."

"She is. She still complains about this one year when someone glued her office to the ceiling."

Rachel immediately took on an innocent expression.

"Rach, what do you know?" Kitty eyed her suspiciously.

"I've been sworn to secrecy, and nothing you could do could possibly make me talk." Rachel regretted her words almost immediately. Kitty had darted over to where she was standing. Fingers darted over her skin and through her shirt and Rachel started to laugh as Kitty tickled her. "I won't tell!"

The two crashed to the floor. Rachel had a faceful of Kitty's hair as it dangled above her, but the smaller girl was stronger than she looked. Kitty pinned her hands above her head, and their breath mingled as they stared at each other.

_Hi,_ Rachel thought, not trusting her voice.

_Hey,_ Kitty thought back. Her mental voice was as nervous as the first time that she'd said hello to Rachel. _There's something I wanted to do back at the arcade._

She swore her heart leapt into her throat, but as Kitty leaned her head down, a woman cleared her throat. The brunette suddenly started to float in the air, and Rachel lifted herself up on her elbows. "Mom! Hi. This isn't what it looks like."

"_Someone_ needs to get to class before she earns herself a demerit." Jean set Kitty down on the ground and the brunette shot Rachel a guilty look before running out of the office.

"Your lucky it wasn't Emma that caught you," Jean scolded. She turned and walked out the door, and Rachel knew she'd better follow if she knew what was good for her. She didn't _think_ her mom was angry (it was usually pretty obvious), but it was better to be safe than sorry.

* * *

"It's just disrespectful." Jean had her arms folded as she looked out her office window at campus. She was sharply dressed and had taken to keeping her hair cut nearly as short as Rachel's was. Rachel could see herself in twenty-years, except she hoped not so stuffy.

"It's Frost."

"And regardless of my personal opinion of that tramp," Jean said, blowing air out of her nose and side-eyeing her daughter. "She's still a staff member and she still deserves respect. I _will_ be talking to Miss Pryde, as well, as I can't believe you're _entirely_ to blame."

Considering that Rachel had only been caught at about half the shenanigans she'd engaged in, that was a fair enough point. Still. "Oh, no no that one was all me." There was a pause, then Rachel added, "But just so we're clear, you totally think she's a tramp too, right?"

Jean gave her a look, and had to fight back a smile. Rachel hated that look, it made her feel tiny again. Like when she was little and her ear was being tugged. Her mother may have one of the most brilliant smiles on the planet, but she had a temper to contrast it and the worst feeling was disappointing her.

Rachel withered. "Sorry. Okay, fine. We were goofing off, and she tickled me because I wouldn't spill the beans on something and we fell over." And Emma was still a tramp. Which was probably slut shaming but Rachel didn't really care. Emma was a world class bitch and that was the end of it.

Jean's expression shifted to the one that Rachel knew meant 'do I look like I was born yesterday?' She remained silent, which meant she was giving her daughter more slack with which to hang herself with.

"Really! Mom I'm serious, nothing was happening, it really wasn't what it looked like!"

"Rachel, you know that your father and I love you, and if you _really_ like girls that way that's not going to change anything." She gestured with one hand towards the school grounds. "Except you really need to prepare yourself for how people are going to react to that, as well as to being a mutant."

"Okay whoa hold on a second. I'm not…I mean okay I'm attracted to her but that doesn't mean.." Rachel felt her head start to pound. She folded her arms stubbornly. "You cheated, didn't you. You already knew."

"You don't usually need to be a telepath to know your own child," Jean pointed out, entirely too cheerfully. "Your father's done, so once he cleans up he'll be ready to take us out. I think Kurt can keep everyone in line if we leave a little early today."

Rachel's back straightened. "You're coming with us? Really?" It was impossible to keep the _hope_ out of her voice. The school kept them so busy that it was like pulling teeth to get time with either of them let alone both of them at once. "Did someone die?"

"Really."


	3. Followed

"Do you think she is seeing someone?"

Dani Moonstar glanced at the Russian girl sitting on the bench next to her. Illyana blew a bubble, but her focus was on the brunette sitting beneath a tree. Kitty was idly doodling in a notebook, and when she noticed them watching her, she waved. Dani and Illyana were among the three people she'd managed to befriend until recently. Once she'd gotten some confidence, she'd started talking to more people, but she wasn't close to anyone else.

At least that's what Dani thought. She ran a hand over her braid and toyed with the feather she kept at the end. "I don't know. She's distracted, but that doesn't mean anything."

"She has been spending a lot of time off-campus. Her grades are suffering. She is _seeing_ someone." If Illyana had a tail, it would be lashing in irritation right now. Sometimes, she actually _had_ a demonic tail, but that was a long complicated story that Dani didn't want to think about. She still had the scars.

"So what if she is? It's about time she saw what everyone keeps telling her."

The blonde blew another bubble . "No. We need to find out who, and put the fear of god into him."

The thought made Dani laugh. Illyana had a piece of the devil in her, or something a lot like it. She wore her long hair hair straight, with bangs, and her style tended to be rebellious. A lot of black, and as much skin as the dress code let her get away with. It drove her brother nuts, but it never bothered Dani. Dani always wore vests without shirt underneath and her jeans were practically painted on. She carried a pullover shirt in her backpack for when the teachers objected. "Okay, and then what? Try to hook her up with Peter again?"

Illyana wrinkled her nose. "No. That was a disaster."

"How do we know she's dating. Maybe she's been tasked with stuff."

"Without us? No. I am positive she is seeing someone. Watch her doodle. She is probably making _hearts_."

"You say that like you sound offended at the very idea." The Cheyenne reached over and nudged Illyana in the ribs. "You're jealous."

"_Of course I am jealous!_ She is our Katya. We need you to do that tracking thing you people do, when you are trying to hunt."

Dani leveled a stare at her friend. "Yes, and while I do that, you can play with your nesting dolls while posing for a mail-order bride catalog."

"Uhm. Sorry." Illyana managed to look sheepish, but Dani's point had been made. There was an awkward silence, while they watched Kitty doodle. The blonde finally put her hand on Dani's shoulder. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"Most people don't." Dani's tone was short, because that was the problem. Below them, Kitty was getting up. Dani got up as well. "Come on. You really want to see what she's been up to off-campus?"

"Yes. And then we hurt him."

Oblivious to her friends' concerns, Kitty made her way to the road. There was the sound of backfiring, and then a beat up blue pick-up came rumbling down the road. She started to bounce on her heels as it got closer. It felt like her day wasn't complete if she didn't get to see Rachel. The door opened and she climbed in. "Thanks for the heads up, I got distracted."

"You're welcome." She leaned into the hug that Kitty gave her, before she put the truck back into gear and started off down the road.

"I've been meaning to ask," Kitty said, buckling up and reaching into her backpack to pull out some pockey. She offered one to Rachel. "It's not like your parents couldn't afford you a better car. So why the clunker?"

"They lacked faith in my ability to learn to drive," Rachel explained, sticking the chocolatey goodness into her mouth.

"Well you do drive worse than Commander Shepard on amphetamines," the brunette pointed out.

Just for that, Rachel gunned it, and Kitty nearly lost her pocky. She laughed at her friend, taking the first corner too swervy and causing Kitty to knock into her. "You were saying?"

"You're only proving my point!" She punched Rachel in the shoulder as she got herself situated again. She wanted to be closer but there was no way to do that without unbuckling. She'd kept a carefully calculated physical distance between them ever since the headmistress had caught them. Or more accurately after the third degree.

Rachel caught a bit of that in Kitty's surface thoughts. "... How did it go with my mom?"

"Well I got in trouble for improper use of school facilities," Kitty admitted. "And then she spent twenty minutes lecturing me on the dangers of dating a Summers. Did you know that your entire family line is cursed to live in interesting times?"

"She didn't really say that, did she?" Rachel glanced at Kitty in surprise.

"No, but she laughed when I did!"

"Oh my god. Wait. Wait she thinks we're _dating_?" Rachel had to resist the urge to pull over. They were just friends who were inexplicably attracted to one another, that didn't mean they were dating.

The brunette bit her lip, and then put her hand on Rachel's leg. "I tried to clarify it. Because I don't actually know what we are, besides friends, and I don't want to assume something if we're not ready for it."

Rachel felt herself start to burn up at the touch, but she didn't move Kitty's hand away. "Hold up. We're not having this conversation while I'm driving."

"We could go to the park and get some hot dogs," Kitty suggested. "Then we could find a bench and talk."

"Hot dogs? Is that allowed?" Rachel glanced at Kitty, her eyes falling to the Star of David around her friend's neck.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not the most strict adherent. I'll go kosher when I can but my dad was always more liberal than my mom and I picked up a lot of his habits. It was more a sanitation thing back then anyway."

The redhead nodded, returning her eyes to the road and taking a turn off that would get them to the park. She'd been wondering about that since they'd met but it had seemed kind of weird to just ask about it.

_If you ever want to know something, just ask, okay?_

Kitty's mental text message startled her. _Is that just religious stuff or is that anything in general?_

_Anything in general_. Kitty smiled at her, and unbuckled when Rachel parked.

"In that case," Rachel said aloud. "If you ever need anything, or even just want to talk…" She tapped her forehead. "I'll leave a door open just for you."

The offer made it feel like Kitty's insides were twisting up in knots. It was a big deal, and she knew it was. Without really thinking about it she took Rachel's hand for the walk to the hot dog stand, unable to even glance at the redhead without feeling like she was going to explode.

Rachel just handed her her hot dog and raised an eyebrow. Kitty shrugged and took a bite, then gestured with the food towards the lake. Rachel took the hint and fell into step besides her. She was dying to know what the brunette was thinking but she couldn't pry. Even Kitty's surface thoughts were more boring than usual.

They sat in front of the lake and Kitty's hand slid through the grass until her fingers laced through Rachel's. She liked this. Just them and the world. No studies, no classes, none of the dangers the staff hid from most of the students. Rachel finished her hotdog and the girls washed the food down with bottled water.

Kitty scooted closer, until she was right up against Rachel's hips. The redhead became suddenly much more aware of the heat of Kitty's body. Kitty had taken the initiative last time, and Rachel realized that Kitty was waiting for _her_. It made sense. Her mom had grilled her.

She tightened her fingers in Kitty's, then leaned in to kiss her.

Dani stepped out of Illyana's portal, checking around to make sure that no one had actually noticed them. She didn't want to get in trouble for using powers off of school grounds, even if it was for a good cause. She peeked around a corner in time to see Kitty and a redheaded girl at a hotdog stand.

"She looks familiar. I think she graduated last year." She looked at her blonde friend, then had to grab the back of her shirt before Illyana marched her way over to Kitty. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"Finding out what is going on. Why is she not telling us about this girl?" Illyana's eyes were blazing and Dani was more confident that the blonde was jealous.

Dani chose her words carefully. "I thought you weren't interested in Kitty that way."

"You know damn well who I am interested in." Illyana's tone was deadly, and she dared the other girl to say something more. "You are the jealous one."

Dani just held up a hand. "I like Kitty, I don't like her that way. Aren't we here just to make sure that Red isn't some kind of serial killer?"

"Yes. Come." This time Dani couldn't hold the Russian girl back, and let herself be dragged along behind her.

They snuck behind some trees to get a better look at what Kitty was doing.

"They're just sitting there," Illyana complained. She scowled, and tried to lean in to get a better look.

"What did you expect?" It looked like they were holding hands. Which was setting off bells in her head. "Oh… Oh crap. They're gonna-"

Illyana charged out of the trees, bearing down on Kitty and Rachel. Her eyes were blazing yellow again and her tail lashed behind her. "Hands off my friend!"


	4. Milkshakes and Pranks

"Okay," Kitty said. The brunette was out of breath. Her shirt was a little torn and her hair had come out of its ponytail. Her eyes were lit up with an odd mix of amusement and anger. "Yana, please put the sword away. Rachel, back up."

Rachel thought that the look was insanely hot, but now wasn't the time to think those kinds of things. Not when there was a homicidal Russian glaring at her over Kitty's shoulder. The other girl was pulling Illyana back farther.

Looking at Kitty, then at Rachel and then finally at Dani, Illyana scowled in disgust. She returned her sword to the place between again, and her tail disappeared with one last, irritated lash. "Fine. But only because you asked _nicely_."

"We really should get some place else before we cause a scene," Dani cautioned. "There's that cafe down the block, why don't we all go there, have some milkshakes, and talk about this like adults."

Kitty shot a look at Dani. It was the sort of warning look that usually preceded some kind of strike. A bit like a rattlesnake's rattle. "What's to discuss? I was hanging out with a friend and you two crashed the party."

"We're your friends too! We were worried!" Dani was the tallest one present and she was using that height to her advantage. She kept a death grip on Illyana's shoulder. There was an undercurrent of anger in her voice. "That _hurts_, Kitty. You could have talked to us."

The blonde swatted at Dani's hand. "_That_ hurts, calm down before _you_ cause a scene!"

_People!_ Rachel's voice rang through their heads and all three girls turned to look at her. She was pinching the bridge of her nose. "Lets do the milkshake thing." Before she turned to lead the way, she gave Kitty a pointed look. _She's right, you could have talked to them. I'm not some dirty secret._

It wasn't as easy as that, but Kitty kept that thought to herself. She did a remarkable job of keeping her expression neutral as she trailed behind friends were all mad at her and the only excuse she could come up with was that she wanted to keep Rachel to herself. It wasn't fair to Rachel, and it wasn't fair to her friends.

Kitty settled into a booth at the cafe and rested her chin on her hands. Rachel sat next to her, and the other two girls took a seat across from them. No one said anything. Dani sighed, and picked up a menu. She already knew what she wanted but it gave her hands something to do.

"Sorry." Kitty finally broke the silence. "It's just so...I don't know." She shifted her hand so she was propped up by her cheek. She needed french fries and she needed them right now.

_You're not a dirty secret._

Rachel glanced at Kitty as she ordered them fries. _It feels like it sometimes. Like you're hiding me. And I get that this...thing we have...almost have. Is scary. Does it bother you that we're both girls, and that I want to kiss you?_

Kitty flushed, hiding behind her menu and sank down in her seat. _I don't know. I don't have a good track record with boys and I don't want to mess this up. And I don't know how other people would react, you know?_

_Other people? Or certain people?_

"They are having a conversation without us," Illyana complained, waving her hand like she was one-hundred percent done with this. "Katya." She reached over and took Kitty's hand. "We love you. You are my best friend. I am jealous because I do not want to lose you. You get wrapped up in...feelings. And you forget us. It has happened before."

Kitty felt water in her eyes, and she blinked it away before peering at them over her menu. "I do get a little obsessive, don't I."

"It's cute, but we want to be a part of your life." Dani leaned forward, her braids sliding off of her shoulders as she moved. "Besides, if you're seeing the headmistress' daughter, we can get away with _so_ much."

Rachel started to laugh. "Oh you really think so, do you? Mom never let me get away with _anything_."

"Only because you weren't caught," Dani said, raising her eyebrow. "Everyone knows who stained Ms. Frost's panty drawer red."

"You can't prove a thing and I have an alibi," Rachel retorted.

"We should do a prank," Kitty said, and everyone looked at her. "What?"

"The last time we tried to do a prank we got stuck in Limbo."

"I do not mind," Illyana said, then gestured at Dani. "But this one, she has never let me forget it."

Dani swatted at Illyana. "_We got stuck in Limbo_. Rahne still won't talk to me. You don't know how much that hurts."

"No, I do." The blonde leaned her head onto Dani's shoulder.

_I've been trying for months to get them to talk again._

Rachel exchanged a look with Kitty, then leaned on the table. "If we do this right no one will ever find out it was you. And there's no danger of getting stuck anywhere. The worse that could happen would be detention."

"Detention is pretty bad. They put Logan in charge of it."

Making a face, Rachel replied. "Then we don't get caught, for your sakes."

"We could prank Logan," Kitty suggested.

Once again all three girls looked at her. Dani and Illyana both looked positively delighted, and Rachel had a devious expression on her face. She picked the thought out of Kitty's mind and laughed. "Oh my god. That's _perfect._."

"What? What is perfect!" Illyana's tail wrapped around Kitty's ankle under the table and tugged. "Tell us!"

"We swap all of Logan's beer out for watered down vinegar. And his hidden whiskey stashes for Mike's Hard Lemonade."

"That is so sadistic and he will fucking _kill_ us," Dani exclaimed. "Lets do it!"

"He'll be able to sniff us out, so we need to do something to mask or eliminate the scent." The redhead tapped her lips with her finger.

"There's some stuff in the lab we can spray." Kitty slid her hand over Rachel's leg. "I'll just phase it out and it'll make it impossible for him to know who did it."

Rachel bit her lip, glancing at Kitty and wishing they had been interrupted five minutes later than they had. Illyana looked between them and rolled her eyes. "Kill me if I ever get that bad with someone."

Kitty was saved from any further embarrassment when the fries and milkshakes arrived and promptly dipped her fries into some ranch dressing. "No, I'll just take pictures for blackmail."

The Russian's eyes narrowed. "You would not dare."

"I would, and I could. And I have." She popped a fry in her mouth and grinned at her friend, who sat there like she was petrified. Some of the color had drained from her face, and Dani looked uncomfortable.

"Kitty, have you been phasing through the door without knocking?" Dani gave Kitty a stern look. The brunette blushed again and shrugged. "You really shouldn't do that. That's invading her privacy!"

"Guys!" Kitty held up her hands. "I'm messing with you, I don't have any pictures! I didn't even see who you were with, Yana. I've just been...hoping you'd tell me."

Illyana slid down the back of the booth, closing her eyes and breathing a sigh of relief. "Well, now I suppose we are even in the keeping of secrets, da?"

Dani sipped at her milkshake, pointedly ignoring Illyana's comment. To Rachel, it looked like she was giving the blonde a bit of a cold shoulder. Jealousy? She wanted to find out, but reigned herself in. If they wanted to talk about it they will. She put her hand over Kitty's to caution her not to pry.

Fortunately, Kitty had something else in mind. "Hey. Why don't we all see a movie? Girl bonding time. We could all squeeze into Rachel's death casket of a truck and go to the theater."

"Funny." She elbowed Kitty. "Sure, what's the worse that could go wrong?"

"Don't ever say that," Dani said. "That's just asking for it."


	5. Copper Marigolds

Ray was up to something. Kitty wasn't sure what, but the redhead was being sneaky, and she has been avoiding her ever since the theater. Maybe she'd said something wrong, or maybe one of her friends had said something that chased the other girl off, but whatever it was, the telepath was being terse over text and she couldn't even send her a mental telegram. Kitty couldn't bring herself to send something naughty, but she was tempted. She just wanted to know that everything was okay before embarrassing herself.

She was so distracted that she hadn't heard someone calling her name until a hand smacked the back of her head. "Hey!"

"Katya," Ilyanna said, leaning forward and peering at her inches from her face. "Your brain is a million miles away. Do you want to go out for lunch? I need some advice."

Kitty leaned back in her chair and stretched with a groan. "Okay, sure, where do you wanna go?"

"I am feeling like Chinese."

As it turned out, Chinese to the teleporter literally meant China. For the first few minutes, Kitty was confused. Everyone spoke English? It was only after she paid closer attention to Ilyanna that she realized the blonde had cast some kind of translation spell.

Kitty shrugged and stuffed her hands in her coat pocket as they walked away from the street vendor with a bag of food. "You know we're gonna get yelled at for abuse of powers, right?"

"Are you afraid of getting in trouble?" Ilyanna grinned at her friend, then pushed the bag at her.

Taking it, the brunette shook her head. "No, of course not. At worse I'll get to sit there and make faces at Ms. Frost."

"She is not so bad. She cares about teaching. That is more than you can say about a lot of teachers."

"She teaches _ethics_."

"Who better to know the difference between right and wrong, than someone who has seen both sides?"

The way Ilyanna was looking at her made her feel uneasy. More uneasy than the subject of conversation was making her. "Yana, are you okay?" She put her hand on her friend's arm.

"I do not know. I have not felt okay in a very long time." She hugged her arms to her chest in an uncharacteristic display of vulnerability.

"You're not...attracted to Frost are you?"

Ilyanna smiled. "Ten ten would bang, but no. That is not the problem."

She wrinkled her nose, but said nothing else of it, instead pulling her friend towards a bench so they could sit and stuff their faces. "Then what's the problem?"

"There is someone I like," Ilyanna said, after a long moment's hesitation and in a tone that made it seem as though she was moving heaven and earth just to admit it.

"You want relationship advice. From me?" Kitty nearly dropped her precious bag of food. She sat down. This was a sit-down kind of conversation. "You remember how well it went with your brother right?"

"Da." She waved her hand and sat next to her friend. "But things seem to be going well with… You know."

Kitty was sure that Ilyanna's tail was lashing, and she reached behind her to tug on it and remind her to keep it hidden. "You're jealousy is cute but endearing. Wait."

Ilyanna's eyes widened. "Nyet! Not you!"

"I'm not crushable?" Kitty had some ideas, but she never had gotten a look at who Ilyanna had been with the one time she'd phased in on them.

"Katya I am going to kill you." The demoness smacked her palm against the back of Kitty's head. "I am...you are my friend. I do not want to lose you because you would rather be getting into some red-head's tight fitting jeans." She wouldn't quite admit it, but she _had_ nursed a crush on Kitty when the brunette had been dating her brother, but by the time that had ended Ilyanna's eyes had wandered.

"You're not gonna lose me. I know I was screwing up, but I'm trying to do better." Kitty wrapped her arm around Ilyanna. "And Ray's been kind of distant lately. I need to talk to her."

"If she hurts you I am leaving her in Limbo."

"Yana."

"Just for a little bit."

"_Yana_."

Ilyanna puffed her cheeks out. "Fine. I just don't want you hurting."

"I think she's just busy, that's all. So … who is it?" Was she finally going to tell her? Kitty wanted to turn the conversation back around to Ilyanna's woes, because she didn't want to deal with the idea that Rachel might have gotten tired of her.

"She knows," Ilyanna said, reluctant to say the name. "But it does not matter. We are very clear on the boundries of our friendship. And it is the kind with benefits. That is all." Besides, she had no soul. She wasn't supposed to feel anything any more.

She trailed off, and started to sort through her food, hands shaking. But her hands weren't supposed to shake. She started to itch, the magic infusing her body making her skin crawl. The cracked ground of Limbo haunted her vision. Her friends battered and bloodied and beaten, the soulsword dripping with their blood. The terrified, _defiant_ look on Dani's face...

Kitty rubbed her hand at her leg, a scar there starting to throb. "Ilyanna." She moved her hand to her friend's leg. "Hey. Hey snap out of it."

People were staring, and Ilyanna could feel the weight of her horns on her head. She reeled the magic, slowly and painfully back. "I told you, it doesn't matter. I have no soul. I cannot love. She is afraid. But she'd never admit it."

So this person was a she. Kitty couldn't think of many people who it could be. "That's bullcrap. You _have_ a soul. And why would she be afraid?" Kitty's scar throbbed again. Was it someone who'd been there when they'd got sucked into Limbo?

Ilyanna leveled a sarcastic look in Kitty's direction, her eyes glowing faintly red at first. "Even you are afraid."

"Afraid _for_ you." She hugged her friend, until the Russian girl seemed to have calmed down. Kitty pushed Ilyanna back onto the bench. "You wanted advice, I'm going to give you advice. Does she even like girls?"

The blonde snorted. "Definitely."

"Uh, that's a stupid question. Uh...of course she does." Kitty waved her hand and flushed deeply.

"The sex is earthshattering."

"But it's more than just sex to you, isn't it."

"Da." Ilyanna puffed her cheeks out again and shook her head. Time for her own subject change. "Are you going to talk to Rachel about this distance thing?"

"Only if you talk to your mystery girl about your feelings."

Ilyanna's eyes widened in alarm. "That is not fair, Katya!"

Kitty got an infuriating smirk on her face. "I know you want to believe that you're some soulless monster, but you care too much for that to be true."

The blonde looked sad. Or possibly disappointed. She turned her attention back to her food. Katya didn't understand. Feeling things was dangerous. And her 'mystery' woman had been very clear on where they stood.

But her friend was right, she _did_ care, and that was why she suddenly teleported Kitty right in front of Rachel's door. She stared at the fading portal. What was _she_ afraid of? She had her own conversation to look forward to, and stepped onto a disk. Once Magik made up her mind on something, she did it.

Kitty ported in nearly on top of Rachel. Flailing her arms as she fell, Kitty landed hard on her butt. The red-head tripped over her and landed next to her in a sprawl of limbs. Rachel pushed herself up by the elbows. "Uh hi?"

"Ilyanna is a dead woman," Kitty said, groaning. She smiled sheepishly at Rachel. The older woman's hair had gotten a little mussed in the fall, and her cheek was smudged, and she was utterly enchanting. So much so that Kitty forgot the reason she was here. Almost.

She straightened and gave Rachel a stern look. "You've been avoiding me."

Rachel's face fell and she sighed, blowing a puff of hair out of her face. She gathered up what she dropped, really quickly before Kitty could see what it was. "Okay come inside. I have a good excuse I _swear_." She unlocked the door and stepped inside with Kitty behind her. She made her way over to her tiny little kitchen and set her cargo down. Then she stepped aside so that Kitty could see what she'd gotten.

Kitty stared, a little bemused. Rachel had an expectant and slightly trepidatious look on her face. The brunette lifted a hand to rub at the back of her neck. "Did you… Ray did you just copper marigold me?"

"I...what?"

"Dragon Age thing, I'll explain later." She walked up to the redhead and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Ray, you've been so squirrely, is this why?" She gestured at the monstrosity on the table.

"I wanted to do something romantic for you. You're so wonderful to me and I just wanted…" Rachel looked almost bashful. "To do something nice. You don't like it, do you."

"It's unique," Kitty assured her, then pulled Ray's head back and kissed her. "Just next time you want to do something like this? You kinda had me freaking out wondering if I'd done something wrong."

"I'm sorry." Rachel started to beat herself up over it. "I just didn't want you to find out what I was doing and you're too smart for your own…" Her breath caught in her throat as Kitty's lips started the nuzzle around that general vicinity. "Uhm. Hi there."

"You got me something and that...really means a lot to me," the brunette murmured, lifting her face to Rachel's again. "Next time. Chocolates and flowers."

"Noted."


End file.
